She was at work by candlelight, She was at work in the dead of night, Smoothing out troubles and healing schisms And doctoring phthisics and rheumatisms, Guiding the cooking and watching the baking, The sewing, the soap-and-candle-making, The brewing, the darning, the lady-daughters, The births and deaths in the negro-quarters, Seeing that Suke had some new, strong shoes And Joe got a week in the calaboose, While Dicey’s Jacob escaped a whipping And the jellybag dripped with its proper dripping, And the shirts and estrangements were neatly mended, And all of the tasks that never ended.